The 4th Division was a unit of the ''
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
''.
Creation
In the Order of 31 July 1920 for the Reduction of the Army (to comply with the upper limits on the size of the military contained in the
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
), it was determined that in every ''Wehrkreis'' (
military district
Military districts (also called military regions) are formations of a state's armed forces (often of the Army) which are responsible for a certain area of territory. They are often more responsible for administrative than operational matters, and ...
) a division would be established by 1 October 1920. The 4th Division was formed in January 1921 out of the ''Reichswehrs 12th, 16th, and 19th, Brigades, all part of the former ''Übergangsheer'' (Transition Army).
It consisted of 3 infantry regiments: the 10th and 11th (Saxon) Infantry Regiments, and the 12th Infantry Regiment. It also included an artillery regiment, an engineering battalion, a signals battalion, a transportation battalion, and a medical battalion. It was subordinated to ''Gruppenkommando'' 1.
The commander of ''Wehrkreis'' IV was simultaneously the commander of the 4th Division. For the leadership of the troops, an ''Infanterieführer'' and an ''Artillerieführer'' were appointed, both subordinated to the commander of the division.
The unit ceased to exist as such after October 1934, and its subordinate units were transferred to one of the new 21 divisions created in that year.
Divisional commanders
*
''General der Infanterie'' Paulus von Stolzmann (1 October 1920 - 16 June 1921)
* ''
Generalleutnant
is the Germanic variant of lieutenant general, used in some German speaking countries.
Austria
Generalleutnant is the second highest general officer rank in the Austrian Armed Forces (''Bundesheer''), roughly equivalent to the NATO rank of O ...
'' Alfred Müller (16 June 1921 - 29 October 1925)
* ''General der Infanterie'' Richard von Pawelsz (29 October 1925 - 1 June 1926)
* ''General der Infanterie'' Erich Wöllwarth (1 June 1926 - 1 January 1929)
* ''General der Infanterie'' Edwin von Stülpnagel (1 January 1929 - 1 November 1931)
* ''Generalleutnant'' Curt Freiherr von Gienanth (1 November 1931 - 30 September 1933)
''Infantrieführers''
* ''Generalleutnant''
Paul Hausser
Paul Hausser also known as Paul Falk after taking his maiden name post war (7 October 1880 – 21 December 1972) was a German general and then a high-ranking commander in the Waffen-SS who played a key role in the post-war efforts by former mem ...
(1 November 1930 - 31 January 1932)
Axis History
/ref>
''Artillerieführers''
* ''Generalmajor
is the Germanic variant of major general, used in a number of Central and Northern European countries.
Austria
Belgium
Denmark
is the second lowest general officer rank in the Royal Danish Army and Royal Danish Air Force. As a two-star ...
'' Ludwig Beck
Ludwig August Theodor Beck (; 29 June 1880 – 20 July 1944) was a German general and Chief of the German General Staff during the early years of the Nazi regime in Germany before World War II. Although Beck never became a member of the Na ...
(1 February 1932 - 30 September 1932)
Garrison
The divisional headquarters was in Dresden
Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...
.
References
Feldgrau.com
{{Divisions of the Reichswehr
Infantry divisions of Germany
Military units and formations established in 1920
Military units and formations disestablished in 1934